Just got a UV filter

Soap · 11-15-2009, 06:29 PM

My outdoor photos now have 20% less suck in them! How did I ever get by without this thing?

There is a point to this thread. I want to know how to get the most out of it. I also have a circular polarizing filter. So if you have any suggestions or tips on using them, please share. (Any time where you absolutely should NOT use a UV filter?)

tht00 · 11-15-2009, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoapbarII

My outdoor photos now have 20% less suck in them! How did I ever get by without this thing?

There is a point to this thread. I want to know how to get the most out of it. I also have a circular polarizing filter. So if you have any suggestions or tips on using them, please share. (Any time where you absolutely should NOT use a UV filter?)

I've never noticed any difference with/without them...

When shouldn't they be used? Extra filters can create flare. In very low-light, it filters can cause small amounts of light loss. Too many filters can cause vignetting. Common sense stuff.

Circular polarizers are useful in bright daylight conditions. The sky, at 90 degree angles from the sun, will have significant amounts of polarized light. On a bright day, polarized light can usually be noticed reflecting off all sorts of things. Filtering out this light often creates more saturation.

CPs also act like neutral density filters (~ 2 stops), but are not stackable. Experiment with them, and don't feel like you always have to use them to full effect (or at all). They can cause strange artifacts in certain circumstances.

Soap · 11-15-2009, 09:27 PM

So if I would have had a CPolarizer the day I shot this one, the light reflecting off the concrete sidewalk in the background would have been reduced? Click link

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/DSC00115.jpg

tht00 · 11-15-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoapbarII

So if I would have had a CPolarizer the day I shot this one, the light reflecting off the concrete sidewalk in the background would have been reduced? Click link

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/DSC00115.jpg

Probably not. That just looks like the light in the background is blown out (as a result of comparatively not enough light on the subject).

Polarized light is almost always only notable in reflections (or sky), where the sidewalk in the photo is just bright, direct light.

Really, to understand a polarizer is to use it. Take it out (without a camera) and rotate it to see the effect of the filter in various lighting conditions.

Soap · 11-16-2009, 02:49 PM

Well, I should know better than to buy photography equipment from a not-electronics/camera store. The polarizing filter had a defect. It was a 2 in 1 so I returned both. But it's okay, I went to an actual camera store and got a better UV filter that will actually accept my lens cap so I can leave it on the lens.